Pope Leo XIV Emphasizes Strong Ties with Italy During Quirinal Palace Visit

Rome: Pope Leo XIV highlighted “the strong bond that unites the See of Peter to the Italian people” and the “cordial bilateral relations that exist between Italy and the Holy See, stably marked by sincere friendship and effective mutual cooperation” during his visit to Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinal Palace in Rome on Tuesday. “It is, after all, a happy union that has its roots in the history of this Peninsula and in the long religious and cultural tradition of this country,” the American pontiff said.

According to Ansa News Agency, Leo thanked Mattarella for inviting him to the Quirinal, a former papal palace, “to which the history of the Catholic Church and the memory of numerous pontiffs are so closely linked”. The pope also talked about the state of the world. “We live in times in which, along with so many signs of hope, there are many situations of grave suffering that wound humanity worldwide and require urgent yet far-sighted responses,” he said.

“The first commitment in this regard that I would like to recall is the one for peace,” the pope stated. Lamenting the “numerous wars ravaging our planet,” Leo renewed his “heartfelt appeal that we continue to work to restore peace in every part of the world and that we increasingly cultivate and promote the principles of justice, equity and cooperation among peoples that are inalienably at their base”.

The pope emphasized the importance of respecting and protecting life “at all of its stages, from conception to old age, up to the moment of death”.